Tuesday, March 24, 2009

You Scratch My Back?

Both CanWest CEO Leonard Asper and Quebecor’s Pierre-Karl Péladeau, have personally met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on behalf of their companies in recent weeks. The federal lobbyist database also shows meetings with Minister Moore, senior CRTC executives, and former industry minister Jim Prentice. Douglas would not comment on specific meetings, or reports that Canwest has engaged the lobbying services of Ken Boessenkool, a former senior Harper adviser, but said the company has always kept Ottawa in the loop about its concerns: “The amount of dialogue we’ve had is no different that what we’ve had over the previous years.”

...one can rightly ask- what rate is the government being charged to run high profile advertisements in publications owned by the companies in question?:

I can't seem to find much, in the way of advertising, on any other media outlet (except fellow lobbyist Quebecor). But there isn't a Canwest publication that isn't putting the government website front and center, down the side (in two separate locations), the reader bombarded.

The government website is nothing more than a Conservative propaganda presentation, funded by the taxpayers. Is it just me, or is this "relationship" between a media outlet, in desperate need of government assistance, and said government, a bit of a conflict of interest? Not suggesting ANYTHING, just asking the question.

As an aside, it would appear the egomaniac flavor of the government website might have had some negative feedback, because I note today TWO front page pictures that actually don't contain Harper's mug.

9 comments:

The subject of the transformation of the Government website into Harper propaganda machines has been discussed years ago. Notice also that the ads are featuring more and more blue instead of the normal GOC colours.

As for advertising "Economic recovery plans" all governments of the day are doing it from the Federal level on down (The Charest Liberals are big spenders also).

As for the lobbying effort of CanWest and Quebecor it's funny and ironic. These firms were quick to pocket money in good times but expect bailouts now.

I stopped reading any Sun/Province/Post papers a long time ago. Canceled my subscription and got a couple of dozen family members to do so too...

I also pulled several thousand dollars in advertising, switched to direct-to-home, and never looked back.

I did this all because of the rancid "conservative-ness" of these papers... Eventually the anger and hate in the editorials just turns one off.

If we read into the fact that most Canadians are "middle of the road", and we like our arts, etc., it really helps understand how these papers are floundering. Even their "guaranteed" markets, where they own all the papers (almost every daily across Canada is Sun or CanWest), they are losing. Why? Not only are Canadians switching to more reliable and "balanced" sources, but they are also going with small local papers, which are free, and have honest editorials (I read the Georgia Straight)...

I recommend everyone write letters to the editor about this; it isn't likely that many reporters will feel 'embiggened' (ah, love those Simpsons references) to do that story. As an employee of a canwest community paper, it worries me just how 'in the tank' my company is with this rancid gov't. That they are propping up Harper, all the while angling behind close doors for some payola/loosened investment regulations that would allow Murdoch to fox-ate their products even more (while the CONs express their faux outrage over Fox's standards), really makes my blood boil. Add the fact that their minister of 1950s haircuts Jimmy Moore is telling the CBC to tighten its belt, that they are showing too much US product (which may be true, but look what their chosen media mavens are showing?) and you've got some sordid wheeling going on.